Online Gambling is the Most
Popular Down Under

It should be no shocker that Australians -
just like Americans, Brits, the Chinese (basically, the entire
world over) - like to get their "gamble" on. The pastime
certainly is regulated Down Under and is widely available to
anyone who is of legal age and not deemed an at-risk bettor.
While matters pertaining to online gambling are a little more
sticky (one need only look over Australias's recent internet
filtering debacle), the fact of the matter is that Australian's
love to gamble online.

A recent
report conducted at the hands of two professors from the
University of Lethbridge (Alberta, Canada) actually goes so far
to say that Australians and their New Zealand neighbors like to
gamble online more than anyone else in the world. Having
surveyed over 20,000 adults from 105 countries, the study
concludes that Australian online gamblers spend a higher monthly
average toward gaming activities at the online casino.

Based on reports of those surveyed, it
was the survey sample of Aussies who portion more of their
monthly budget toward online wagering than citizens of other
countries. According to the Telegraph, this amounted to AU$435
(or US$300) gambled on average each month by online bettors down
under. On another note, these figures are something the
land-based casinos can mull over, for this amount was five times
higher than what gets wagered on the poker machines.

The study does not accurately say
anything about the "nature" or mentality of Australians, per
say. If anything, it goes to show that online gambling
regulation accounts for more online gambling. Go figure, right?
Indeed, under the Australian Interactive Gambling Act 2001,
online gambling is a legally regulated activity in Australia and
New Zealand, as opposed to the U.S. and China, where it is
ineffectively banned. Internet betting is also regulated in the
UK, where average betting figures were in line with normal
expectations.